Productive Procrastination with Flash Fiction

“I’m on deadline, so my house has never been cleaner.” I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard some version of that from my writer friends. It’s never worked for me, alas. My brain does not accept cleaning as a procrastination method from writing deadlines. However, it turns out that the reverse might be true!

This month, I was doing a cleaning and organizing challenge*. So naturally, my brain decided that I should be doing some writing instead. But not Big Writing, like working on my book. No, that would be too obviously not what I was supposed to be doing. But how about something smol and quick, with a deadline that meant I should obviously do it sooner rather than later?

That is how I ended up taking my daily quick freewriting exercise and tweaking it to fit a monthly flash fiction contest’s theme.

* Necessitated by the accumulating detritus that began when I participated in NaNoWriMo’s monthlong writing challenge right before the pandemic hit, and snowballed when … yeah. All that came with it.

Takeaway 1: Seriously, if you’re not a super-speedy writer and you’re planning on NaNoWriMoing this November, have prep plans and recovery plans for everything non-writing-related! Bonus points for actually writing your plans down in advance.

Takeaway 2: Don’t have time for a “serious” writing project? Not sure what you want to write next? Try something small and fun, like one of these monthly themed flash fiction contests. As always for publishers included in Aswiebe’s Market List, none of these charge fees and they all pay (a little–flash fiction is not usually highly remunerative!):

What I’ve been up to lately, writing-wise:

DreamHaven storefront in the Standish neighborhood
DreamHaven storefront in the Standish neighborhood, by Elcief (CC BY-SA 4.0)

If you’re in the Twin Cities area, I have a reading coming up in October at Dreamhaven!

On Wednesday, October 4, ABRA STAFFIN-WIEBE reads and holds a reception as part of the Speculations Reading Series, from 6:30-7:45 p.m. Abra Staffin-Wiebe is a science fiction author who loves futuristic fairy tales, cheerful horror, and dark science fiction. Dozens of her stories have appeared at award-winning publications including Tor.com, Escape Pod, and Fireside Magazine.

Bring a friend! There will be cookies and soda as well as giveaways during the reading. Afterwards, we usually adjourn to Parkway Pizza for some social time.

Things Shiny or Useful

Archive of all shiny or useful links: https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/shiny-or-useful-writing-links/

Lucy Worsley’s 9 “Christie Tricks” for Mystery Writers: https://careerauthors.com/christie-tips-on-mystery-writing/

Hook Your Genre Readers on Page One: https://careerauthors.com/writing-for-genre/

5 Ways To Use Short Stories To Grow as a Writer: https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/5-ways-to-use-short-stories-to-grow-as-a-writer

Publishing Contracts 101: Beware Internal Contradictions: https://writerbeware.blog/2022/06/10/publishing-contracts-101-beware-internal-contradictions/

How to Prevent AI Bots from Scraping Your Website: https://www.jonathancrowe.net/2023/09/how-to-prevent-ai-bots-from-scraping-your-website/

10 Tips for Building a Realistic and Vibrant Fictional World: https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/10-tips-for-building-a-realistic-and-vibrant-fictional-world

Overdrive and Libraries: Everything You Wanted to Know: https://ilona-andrews.com/blog/overdrive-and-libraries-everything-you-wanted-to-know/

Featured Market

Tales & Feathers Magazine (Augur) will be opening soon for cozy fantasy submissions!

Our ideal submissions look like this:

  • Quiet character-driven storytelling
  • Gentle moments
  • Rich fantastical worldbuilding
  • Everyday moments
  • Stories that take place before or between or after the epic conflicts
  • Stories that offer warmth, comfort, and possibility

We welcome stories written in any fantasy genre or genres, including stories that blur genre lines. We are especially interested in high fantasy, fairy tales, and myth.

We also welcome stories that have been translated into English and stories that engage with non-Western fantasy genre traditions.Tales & Feathers

Basics: cozy fantasy, 1,000 – 2,500 words, CA$.11/word, no reprints. Submission periods: 10/1/23-10/21/23 BIPOC, trans, or disabled writers; 10/8/23-10/21/23 general submissions.

Guidelines: https://www.augurmag.com/submissions/

Market List Updates

To see all the details about these new listings and what they’re looking for, go to https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/new/. For all the hundreds of listings, go to Aswiebe’s Market List and download the latest version of the spreadsheet, or view it online at https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/marketlistonline/. Best read on a bigger screen!

Screenshot of updated New Markets page

Click to see details of the latest updates!

Keep writing, keep submitting, and good luck!

Abra Staffin-Wiebe, Keeper of Lists

Feel free to share this blog post/newsletter with others by whatever means you like, as long as you include all of it. The next update of Aswiebe’s Market List will be after 10/15/2023. If you don’t want to miss an update, subscribe to the Aswiebe’s Market List newsletter: https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/subscribe-to-market-list/

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What Belongs In Fiction Submission Guidelines? plus Aswiebe’s Market List updates

Thoughts in Passing

What Belongs In Fiction Submission Guidelines?

Here are the basics of what should be in short fiction submission guidelines. If you follow me on social media, you may have seen me rant about some of these in “Dear Editors…” posts. This post is aimed at editors because that’s how much of it was originally phrased, but as a writer, it’s also helpful to know what you should expect to find in the guidelines.

0. Just starting out?

Are you in the process of establishing your publication? Not sure what your final pay rates or accepted wordcounts will be? That’s okay! It’s fine to adjust your guidelines later, as long as you are clear about what current accepted submissions will be paid, etc. You can say, “We are figuring out our long-term policies. Right now, we are reading for our first issue. Stories accepted for this issue will be paid $.08/word.” Changing your policies after you accept a submission is shady. If you plan to change your guidelines, consider pausing submissions and changing guidelines before the next submission period.

1. What kind of story do you want?

Genre, subgenre, any themes or particular vibes. It would be lovely if every writer had time to read several issues of every publication they ever might submit to, but that isn’t the reality. Putting this info up front will save you a lot of time in the slush pile. Genre magazines are generally pretty good about this. Realist literary magazines are generally pretty terrible at it.

2. How much do you pay?

Per word or a flat rate is the usual. “We pay at or above the industry standard rate” is not actually saying how much you pay. Industry standard can mean many different things. Pro rate changes depending on genre. Paying in “exposure” = non-paying. If you don’t list a pay rate, the assumption is that you don’t pay. One exception to this assumption is “Best of the Year” anthologies, which usually pay $.01/word. (They should still list the pay rate on their guidelines, but they often don’t.) If your pay rate depends on the success of a Kickstarter, be upfront about this! If you don’t pay in U.S. dollars, please specify your currency. Sorry, but USD are the standard.

Note: Charging submission fees is a common practice for realist literary magazines. But in science fiction and fantasy circles, Yog’s Law dictates that money flows to the writer. Charging submission fees is taboo, and patting yourself on the back for not charging fees is … weird.

3. What rights are you buying?

The subject of rights is really a whole essay by itself. Usually this is some version of First Rights for original (never-before-published) stories and Reprints Rights or One-Time Rights for reprints. Often there is a period of exclusivity and a right to archive the story for a particular length of time. Never say, “All rights stay with the author!” That is impossible. If you didn’t get any rights, you wouldn’t be allowed to publish their story. Publishing a story automatically uses First Rights, for one thing.

Don’t try to take All Rights. Don’t be a jerk.

4. What wordcounts do you accept?

What’s your minimum? What’s your maximum? If you don’t specify, please don’t be mad if you get flash fiction or novellas. If you don’t specify because you’re honestly good with getting flash fiction or novella submissions, it’s lovely to say so. Some of us have been snarled at by editors who assume their idea of acceptable story length is universal. It’s fine to say that people must query first for stories over X words.

5. How do you feel about reprints?

Do you accept reprint submissions? It’s also great to specify if they are given the same preference and if they will be paid at the same rate or not. If you don’t say you don’t accept reprints, expect to get some queries about them.

Beyond the basics…

6. Are simultaneous submissions okay? 

For bonus points, you could also specify if you accept simultaneous submissions–authors submitting to other magazines at the same time, which might mean a story you like gets accepted elsewhere before you respond.

7. What’s your submission schedule?

Once you figure out a submission schedule (Open all the time? Only open the third week in October in leap years?) and average response time, it’s very kind to include that information too.

Finally, please please please keep submission guidelines up even when you’re closed to submissions. Don’t erase the whole page. Just put a big SUBMISSIONS CLOSED UNTIL X at the top of the page, and temporarily hide the submissions email address if you need to.

What I’ve been up to lately, writing-wise:

If you’re in the Twin Cities area, I have a reading coming up in October at Dreamhaven!

On Wednesday, October 4, ABRA STAFFIN-WIEBE reads and holds a reception as part of the Speculations Reading Series, from 6:30-7:45 p.m. Abra Staffin-Wiebe is a science fiction author who loves futuristic fairy tales, cheerful horror, and dark science fiction. Dozens of her stories have appeared at award-winning publications including Tor.com, Escape Pod, and Fireside Magazine.

Bring a friend! There will be cookies and soda as well as giveaways during the reading. Afterwards, we usually adjourn to Parkway Pizza for some social time.

Things Shiny or Useful

Archive of all shiny or useful links: https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/shiny-or-useful-writing-links/

Five Secrets to Writing Suspense: https://careerauthors.com/five-secrets-to-writing-suspense/

IMHO: What Remedies Do Authors Have When Fraudulent Work Appears on Amazon? : https://hotsheetpub.com/2023/08/imho-what-remedies-do-authors-have-when-fraudulent-work-appears-on-amazon/

5 Ways to Survive a Publishing Draught: https://careerauthors.com/5-ways-to-survive-a-publishing-drought/

My Book is Coming Out This Month. Here are Ten Things I Learned on the Way to Getting Published: https://horrortree.com/my-book-is-coming-out-this-month-here-are-ten-things-i-learned-on-the-way-to-getting-published/

How to Market Your Book to Get Worldwide Exposure: https://insights.bookbub.com/ideas-for-getting-your-book-more-international-exposure/

Rambling About Revisions: https://pcwrede.com/pcw-wp/rambling-about-revisions/

The Stanford Geospatial Network Model of the Roman World (how people traveled in olden days): https://orbis.stanford.edu/

Featured Market

Nightmare Diaries anthology wants dark speculative fiction, pays $.10/word.

Moonstruck Books will publish an anthology of dark fiction titled Nightmare Diaries in Spring 2025. We are seeking short stories, fairy tales, flash fiction, and novellas of 500-10,000 words.Moonstruck Books

Basics: dark fiction, 500 – 10,000 words, $.10/word, unknown reprint policy, due 12/27/23.

Guidelines: https://www.moonstruck-books.com/submissions

Market List Updates

To see all the details about these new listings and what they’re looking for, go to https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/new/. For all the hundreds of listings, go to Aswiebe’s Market List and download the latest version of the spreadsheet, or view it online at https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/marketlistonline/. Best read on a bigger screen!

Screenshot of updated market listings.

Click to see details of the latest updates!

Keep writing, keep submitting, and good luck!

Abra Staffin-Wiebe, Keeper of Lists

Feel free to share this blog post/newsletter with others by whatever means you like, as long as you include all of it. The next update of Aswiebe's Market List will be after 9/15/2023. If you don’t want to miss an update, subscribe to the Aswiebe’s Market List newsletter: https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/subscribe-to-market-list/
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You Missed a Spot!

When you think you already plotted your story … but when you’re thiiiiiis close to the end, you find out you left out an important bridge. And by you, I mean me. It happens to the best of us plotters, no matter how intricately we think we’ve woven our web.

So when the web is 98% constructed, what do I do when I discover the missing 2% of the pattern?

I sulk.

No, really. First, I allow myself to be justifiably cranky at my past self who assured me that the job was done and everything would be fine and all I had to do was follow the map. What a slacker! Past Me is fired!

Unfortunately, that still leaves the job for Present Me. I plot best with pen and paper (this could be a liability if I ever plan a murder). So I get out my notebook and pen and scribble down all the end conditions that I need the bridge to connect to. Then I work backwards. What is the smallest step that has to occur to get to that end point? Okay, got it. Rinse and repeat.

Sometimes, I discover that the bridge just won’t be structurally sound if I try to connect it to one of those end conditions. That sucks, because it means that I have to change the already plotted ending. It extra sucks if I’ve already written part of the doomed scene. But eventually, the gossamer bridge that I’m plotting becomes solid and real. Then I breathe a sigh of relief and get back to putting in the words until I get to The End.

What I’ve been up to lately, writing-wise:

The kids are out of school, I went to the (excellent as always) 4th Street Fantasy Convention, we had a week in Kansas City, 4th of July and CONvergence are coming up, and–what’s that you say? That isn’t writing? Very observant of you.

Things Shiny or Useful

Archive of all shiny or useful links: https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/shiny-or-useful-writing-links/

Defy Parkinson’s Law to Be More Productive: https://lifehacker.com/defy-parkinson-s-law-to-be-more-productive-1850565701

7 Tips for Choosing a Title You Love: https://careerauthors.com/7-tips-for-choosing-a-title-you-love/

Featured Market

Successfully launched Monstrous Magazine wants horror flash fiction, pays $.06/word.

We’re launching a print magazine! Monstrous will contain comics, prose fiction, and articles.

FLASH FICTION

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:

Horror Flash Fiction for the first issue, to be published later this year. There’s no theme, but we do like monsters, pulp, and classic horror films. Focus should be on fast-paced entertaining stories. We’ll take a limited amount of fantasy, but make it dark and action packed. No science fiction or detective fiction. No reprints.

Monstrous Magazine

Basics: horror, 1,000 – 2,000 words, pays $.06/wd, no reprints, first submission period closes 7/27/23. Guidelines: https://monstrousbooks.com/submissions

Market List Updates

To see all the details about these new listings and what they’re looking for, go to https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/new/. For hundreds of other listings, go to Aswiebe’s Market List and download the latest version of the spreadsheet, or view it online at https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/marketlistonline/. Best read on a bigger screen!

Screenshot of market lists update. Click to go to New Updates page.

Click to see the hot new updates!

Keep writing, keep submitting, and good luck!

Abra Staffin-Wiebe, Keeper of Lists
Aswiebe’s Market List
Abra Staffin-Wiebe’s Author Website

The next update of Aswiebe's Market List will be after 7/15/2023.If you don’t want to miss an update, subscribe to the Aswiebe’s Market List newsletter: https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/subscribe-to-market-list/
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27 Places to Sell Flash Fiction, and Other Market List Updates

The next update of Aswiebe’s Market List will be after 7/15/2022. If you don’t want to miss an update, subscribe to the Aswiebe’s Market List newsletter: https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/subscribe-to-market-list/

Thoughts in Passing

27 Places to Sell Flash Fiction

What even is flash fiction? Because the major awards don’t have a “flash fiction” category, there is no standard definition. Most publications agree that if it’s under 1,001 words, it is flash fiction. Some stretch that to under 1,501 words or even 2,001 words. Some ask for fiction that’s under 501 words. (And then there’s micro-fiction, which is usually under 300 words, and drabbles, which are exactly 100 words long.)

How do you know if a publication is flash fiction friendly? Even if they don’t list a minimum wordcount in their guidelines, flash fiction may be a hard sell. If they specifically mention flash fiction in their guidelines, that’s a good sign! If they say that they have more room for shorter stories, that’s a good sign!

What’s the best place to sell flash fiction? Flash fiction contests are worth considering. Low risk, high reward! Publications that specialize in flash fiction are a good bet. When comparing publications, remember that a flat pay rate instead of a per-word pay rate may be a better deal for flash fiction. And for these very short pieces, it’s great to find publications with a minimum guaranteed payment.

Here are 27 places to sell your flash fiction.

NameMin WordcountMax WordcountWhat they wantPay Per Word USD (originals)Flat Pay USD (originals)Payment NotesWebsiteNotes
Factor Four Magazine01,000All speculative flash fiction, especially SF, fantasy, supernatural, and superhero fiction$0.110https://factorfourmag.com/submissionsinfo/
Arcanist, The01,000SF/F/Horror flash fiction$0.100https://thearcanist.io/a-call-for-submissions-244f646d25a4
Third Flatiron Press6003,000Science fiction, fantasy, horror, themed issues. Flash fiction, no theme required.$0.080https://thirdflatiron.com/ONE-TIME THEME: 7/19/22 – 8/2/22 things with feathers (hope or the loss of)
Baffling Magazine (Neon Hemlock)01,200All speculative flash fiction$0.080https://www.bafflingmag.com/submissions
Pseudopod (Podcast)5006,000Horror and dark fantasy$0.080$100 for reprints, $20 for flash fictionhttp://pseudopod.org/submissions/An Escape Artists publication. ONE-TIME SUBMISSION PERIODS: 3/1/22-7/31/22 (2022 anthologies and collections), 8/12/22-8/21/22
Gargantua (Air and Nothingness Press) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 12/1/22-1/31/231,0001,000All genres, flash fiction, themed to massive engineering megastructures$0.080http://aanpress.com/submissions.html
Metastellar01,000Fantasy, SF, and horror flash fiction$0.080https://www.metastellar.com/write-for-us/flash-fiction-story-submission/ONE-TIME SUBMISSION WINDOW 10/1/22 – 10/31/22. NOTE: submission gives right of publication, even without a contract signing
Campfire Macabre Vol 2 (Cemetery Gates Media) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 6/1/22-8/15/225001,500Horror flash fiction, themed to When We Were Getting High, My Last Trick ‘r Treat, Body Grotesquerie, Ominous Visitors from Deep Space, or Out in the Fields, Forests, and Lakes$0.080https://cemeterygatesmedia.com/submissions/
Cast of Wonders Podcast07,500Clean YA SF/F/H$0.080$100 flat for reprints, $20 for flash fictionhttp://www.castofwonders.org/submissions/ONE-TIME 2022 SUBMISSION PERIODS: 06/15/22 – 06/30/22 (Young Authors), 08/01/22 – 08/31/22 (Flash Fiction Contest) ### Query first for > 6,000 words.
Podcastle (Podcast)06,000Fantasy fiction$0.080$100 for reprints, $20 for flash fictionhttp://podcastle.org/guidelines/An Escape Artists publication. Original fiction up to 6,000 words, reprints up to 17,000. ONE-TIME SUBMISSION THEME: Indigenous Magic (#ownvoices) 7/1/22 – 7/31/22
Frozen Wavelets01,500Speculative flash fiction and poetry$0.080https://earthianhivemind.net/frozen-wavelets/Reprints 500 – 1,500 or fewer words, original fiction 750 or fewer words.
Orion’s Belt01,200Literary speculative flash fiction$0.080https://www.orions-belt.net/submissions
PodCastle Flash Fiction Contest RECURRING CONTEST – DUE 3/1 – 3/310500Fantasy flash fiction$0.080https://podcastle.org/2021/02/16/podcastle-flash-fiction-contest-vi/Recurring contest, rotates between Escape Artists publications Escape Pod, PodCastle, and PseudoPod.
Flame Tree Newsletter Flash Fiction7001,000Horror and sci-fi, themed. Subscribe to free newsletter for themes.$0.080https://www.flametreepress.com/submissions/SUBMISSION PERIOD: usually 2 weeks at the beginning of the month
Shoreline of Infinity06,000SF and Fantasy$0.052Pays £40/1,000 wordshttp://www.shorelineofinfinity.com/submissions/RIGHTS: Also takes audio rights. ONE-TIME 2022 SUBMISSION PERIODS: 6/13 – 8/28 (flash fiction competition), 9/11 – 9/14
Apparition Lit05,000Speculative fiction, themed. Separate monthly flash fiction contest.$0.050$50 minhttps://apparitionlit.com/submissions/Submission periods: 2/15 – 2/28, 5/15 – 5/31, 8/15-08/31 (ONE-TIME 2022 THEME: Nostalgia), 11/15 – 11/30, with a 1-week extension each period for BIPOC.
Dose of Dread5001,000Flash horror fiction$0.020https://dreadstonepress.com/submissions/SUBMISSION PERIOD: 1st – 15th Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct
Wyldblood Press – Wyld Flash01,000Speculative flash fiction$0.012Pays £.01/wordhttps://wyldblood.com/submissions-2/
Starward Shadows Quarterly5004,000All spec-fic$0.010Flash fiction is paid $10 flat.https://starwardshadows.com/submissions/
Wyngraf – flash fiction01,001Secondary world cozy fantasy flash fiction$0.010https://wyngraf.com/2022/03/20/now-open-to-cozy-flash-and-microfiction/
Hypnos Magazine010,000Weird fiction and cosmic horror$0.010$.03/wd for flash fictionhttp://www.radiumtownpress.com/guidelines.htmlFast response time.
Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine010,000All speculative fiction and poetry, especially humorous and lighthearted$0.007AU $0.01, min AU$20, max AU$100. Flash fiction and poetry AU$10.https://andromedaspaceways.com/submissions-manager/Subscribers and AU/NZ authors can submit up to 20,000 words. ONE-TIME CLOSURE until 7/1/22.
Electric Literature010,000Literary, all genres, incl. experimental. The Commuter takes flash fiction. Recommended Reading takes short stories.$300.00$100 for flashhttps://electricliterature.submittable.com/submitSUBMISSION PERIODS: Recommended Reading (short stories) has 2 1-week open submission periods, usually in Spring and Fall, The Commuter (flash fiction) has 4 1-week submission periods. NOTE: Long response time.
Craft Literary06,000Literary, with a focus on writing craft$200.00$100 for flashhttps://www.craftliterary.com/submit/
Three-Lobed Burning Eye07,500All speculative fiction, western, and suspense$100.00$100 per story, or $30 for flash fiction.http://www.3lobedmag.com/submissions.html
Flash Fiction Online5001,000All genres, including SF/F/H and literary$80.00https://www.flashfictiononline.com/submission-guidelines-flash-fiction/what-were-looking-for-and-not/Submission period: 1st to 21st monthly, closed December.
Daily Science Fiction1001,500SF, fantasy, slipstream, dark fantasy but not pure horror, etc.$0.080Plus $.05/wd if they choose to use story in anthology.http://dailysciencefiction.com/submit/story/guidelines
Flash Fiction Markets
Do you have a writing question? Send it to me, either by replying to this email or by using the contact form on my website, and it may get answered in the next newsletter.

What I’ve been up to lately, writing-wise:

My cozy, funny, queer story about a haunted drag show and an unusual pest control specialist is now up at PodCastle! Go to Episode 740 to read or listen, or find it in your preferred podcast stream.

Note: ASL is its own language, with its own grammar and syntax that is different from English. This story is written to convey the meaning, not as a direct word-for-word translation. Special thanks to Anna Dudda for providing a Deaf expert reading.

PodCastle logo of dragon with castle, and story excerpt
Beck’s Pest Control and the Case of the Drag Show Downer

Things Shiny or Useful

Archive of all shiny or useful links: https://aswiebe.com/marketlist/shiny-or-useful-writing-links/

Five PR Tools Every Writer Should Know About: https://www.authorsguild.org/industry-advocacy/five-pr-tools-every-writer-should-know-about/

9 Things We Learned From Tracking 150k Books for 3 Years on Amazon: https://www.ingramcontent.com/publishers-blog/9-things-we-learned-from-tracking-150k-books-for-3-years-on-amazon?

Dark Art as an Access Need: https://adahoffmann.substack.com/p/dark-art-as-an-access-need

Digital Security for Filmmakers: https://www.digitalsecurity.film/

Crash Override Network: http://www.crashoverridenetwork.com/resources.html

How to Write Character Arcs: https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/write-character-arcs/

Setting boundaries (thread🧵): https://twitter.com/AyanaGray/status/1535431505270525953

Accessible links (thread🧵): https://twitter.com/Em1lySm/status/1516741011422199810

How to See if a Song is Copyrighted: https://legismusic.com/how-to-see-if-song-is-copyrighted/

List of Public Domain Music: https://www.pdinfo.com/public-domain-music-list.php

Free adspace on Dead Headspace for LGBTQ+ community through 7/24/22: https://horrortree.com/dead-headspace-is-offering-free-ad-space-to-the-lgbtq-community/

Reimagining Conflict: https://www.sfwa.org/2022/05/10/reimagining-conflict-writing/

Reasonable Agreement: On the Crapification of Literary Contracts: https://doctorow.medium.com/reasonable-agreement-ea8600a89ed7

Using Writer’s Block to Diagnose Story Problems: https://www.tiktok.com/@maryrobinettekowal/video/7081295775627480362

Classes for BIPOC writers: https://twitter.com/tinytempest/status/1537421038115381249

Atticus (for creating ebooks): https://www.atticus.io/

Sorting Hat Chats: https://sortinghatchats.wordpress.com/2020/01/17/the-basics/

What Debut Authors Should Know  (thread🧵): https://twitter.com/MissDahlELama/status/1537437057332617216

Artbreeder (Creative Commons AI art generator, great for character art!): https://www.artbreeder.com/beta/about

Upcoming Virtual Conventions/Workshops

(Any registration fees are noted.)

Westercon (?), July 1-4, 2022: http://westercon74.org/

ChiCon 8 / WorldCon ($30), Sept 1-5, 2022: https://chicon.org/

The Nebula Conference ($150) is over for 2022, but purchasing a membership now still gets access to recorded panels and year-round special events: https://membership.sfwa.org/event-4563942

Featured Market

Mysterion wants speculative fiction that engages with Christianity. Open for submissions during July 2022.

We are looking for speculative stories that meaningfully engage with Christianity.

Your story doesn’t need to teach a moral or cleave closely to an approved theological position. 

Your story doesn’t need to be pro-Christian. We’re unlikely to publish anything that insults us, but we do want to read stories that challenge us. Having said that, there are tropes we see too often in stories critical of Christian faith and tradition: evil preachers, theocratic dystopias, Christians abandoning their faith because something inexplicable happened, crazy Christians trying to bring about the apocalypse by doing something in Israel, an unambiguously evil God. Any of these will be a hard sell.

There are tropes we see too often on the pro-Christian side, too. Stories where the plot resolution hinges on one or more characters becoming Christian, apocalypse stories based on a literal reading of Revelation, rapture stories, spiritual warfare with angels and demons as characters, retold Bible stories, allegory, theocratic utopias, anything that reads like C.S. Lewis fanfic. You’d have to do a very unique take on one of these to get anything other than a quick rejection.

Mysterion

Basics: themed speculative fiction, up to 9,000 words, pays $.08/wd for original work, $.04/wd for reprints, reprints okay, annual submission periods in January and July.

Guidelines: https://www.mysteriononline.com/p/submission-guidelines.html

Market List Updates

To see all the details about these new listings and what they're looking for, as well as hundreds of other listings, go to Aswiebe's Market List and download the latest version of the spreadsheet. Note: going forward, limited demographic market listings will be italicized.
Test
NameWhat they wantPay Per Word USD (originals)Flat Pay USD (originals)WebsiteNotes
Alternate History (Flame Tree Publishing) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/11/22SFF themed to alternate history$0.080https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-gothic/alternate-history-call-for-submissions-0-0
Baffling Magazine (Neon Hemlock)All speculative flash fiction$0.080https://www.bafflingmag.com/submissions
Hidden Realms (Flame Tree Publishing) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/11/22SFF themed to hidden places$0.080https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-gothic/hidden-realms-call-for-submissions-0?
MysterionSF, fantasy, and horror with Christian themes$0.080http://www.mysteriononline.com/p/submission-guidelines.htmlSUBMISSION WINDOWS: January, July
Third Flatiron PressScience fiction, fantasy, horror, themed issues. Flash fiction, no theme required.$0.080https://thirdflatiron.com/ONE-TIME THEME: 7/19/22 – 8/2/22 things with feathers (hope or the loss of)
MythuluSF/F/H, themed$0.040https://mythulu.com/emagazine-submission-call/
Night Frights (Dark Moon Digest) ANNUAL ANTHOLOGY – DUE 8/1PG-rated YA horror$0.030https://perpetualpublishing.com/2022/05/21/now-open-for-submissions-night-frights-a-ya-horror-magazine/
Superstition (Redwood Press) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/1/22 until fullHorror and dark fiction and poetry themed to superstition$0.020https://redwood-press.com/category/submissions/
Wyldblood Press – Wyld FlashSpeculative flash fiction$0.012https://wyldblood.com/submissions-2/
Museum Piece (Metaphorosis Books) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/31/22SFF themed to museums$0.010https://books.metaphorosis.com/open-calls/
Andromeda Spaceways Inflight MagazineAll speculative fiction and poetry, especially humorous and lighthearted$0.007https://andromedaspaceways.com/submissions-manager/Subscribers and AU/NZ authors can submit up to 20,000 words. ONE-TIME CLOSURE until 7/1/22.
Islandia JournalAll genres, themed to myth, folklore, history, and ecology of Florida and the Caribbean$100.00https://www.islandiajournal.com/
Short Story SubstackAll genres$100.00https://shortstory.substack.com/p/coming-soon
Flash Fiction OnlineAll genres, including SF/F/H and literary$80.00https://www.flashfictiononline.com/submission-guidelines-flash-fiction/what-were-looking-for-and-not/Submission period: 1st to 21st monthly, closed December.
Reclaiming Joy (WriteHive) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 7/1/22 – 8/30/22Speculative fiction themed to reclaiming joy after difficulties$30.00https://writehive.org/news/coming-soon-reclaiming-joy-anthology/
Future Fire, TheProgressive speculative fiction and poetry$20.00http://futurefire.net/guidelines/fiction.htmlPrefers under 7,500 words.
Haunted Train, The: Creepy Tales from the Railways ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE 8/15/22Stories about trains$10.72https://www.raynehall.com/general-8
Incubate (Speculation Publications) ONE-TIME ANTHOLOGY – DUE UNTIL FULLFeminist horror themed to rage$10.00https://www.speculationpub.com/submissions
Insignia’s Best Asian Speculative Fiction ANNUAL ANTHOLOGY – DUE 6/1 – 6/30All speculative fiction set in Asia with an Asian main character, reprints only$5.00https://insigniastories.com/subs/
Wyldblood Press – Novels and NovellasScience fiction and fantasy$0.00https://wyldblood.com/submissions-2/
Updated Listings for June

Keep writing, keep submitting, and good luck!

Abra Staffin-Wiebe, Compiler of Lists
Aswiebe’s Market List
Abra Staffin-Wiebe’s Author Website

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